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26 September 2017

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Pubmatic well positioned to take advantage of the growth of digital advertising

In less than the time it took to type the first word of this sentence, advertisers are bidding for and placing advertisements on websites, thanks to the power of real-time bidding, or RTB. The technology, part of programmatic function or workflow automation, has also powered the rise of PubMatic, an enterprise software platform for large digital publishers such as NBC, Fox, eBay and Kayak.

“We help these large publishers price, package and sell all their ad space in a digital manner, using real-time bidding technology, which has become the backbone of internet advertising,” explains Rajeev Goel, co-founder and chief executive of PubMatic.

Pubmatic is technically a US based company, but all its software development happens out of Pune. Here is a profile of the company’s market:

PubMatic has about 500 clients globally. Their definition of a publisher is anyone who builds a relationship with consumers. Goel estimates of the global advertising market of a little more than half a trillion dollars, about $133 billion goes into digital advertising, while RTB accounts for about $30 billion.

He says digital advertising is growing 50-70 per cent annually, and steadily increasing its share in the advertising market. “More and more radio is consumed via digital services such as Spotify and Pandora, more and more billboard advertising is digital billboards and, of course, you have all types of internet advertising, on a computer screen, on mobile devices, video ads, etc. Our focus is on that entire digital portfolio, which will eventually be 100 per cent of advertising,” Goel says.

The US is PubMatic’s largest market, followed by Europe and Asia-Pacific. The company has clients in 30 countries and significant footprints in New York and Pune, where its development team is based. PubMatic has 275 employees in Pune, and plans to hire 80 more this year. It has expanded its Pune hub to a 60,000-sq-ft facility. India is not yet a major market, but with around 100 million internet users and growing, Goel says PubMatic aims to be the top player in India through the next couple of years. He doesn’t disclose the company’s clients in India, but brands such as Snapdeal or Rediff seem to be typical examples, going by their profiles.